Industry_Q As.pdf

Solicitation DJJI-12-RFP-0783, Mega 4 Automated Litigation Support

No.

RFQ

Section Vendor Question DOJ Response

1 General In general, does DOJ prefer ALS products services to be performed by Offerors themselves, via its approved subcontractors, via ODC, or is there no preference among provisioning parties?

It is up to the offeror regarding how it performs the requirements of the contract.

2 SF-33, Block 8 For Block 8, “Address Offer To”, no address is given. Are we to assume that we should submit offers to the address given in Block 7?

Yes.

3 SF-33, Block 9 The number of copies of proposals required in Block 9 differs from the number of copies required in Section L of the solicitation. In addition, with respect to Section K, the

RFP itself instructs proposers to “…check or complete all applicable boxes in the paragraphs under Section K of the solicitation and resubmit the full section as part of the proposal.” Section G.2, which also requires that proposers fill in information required by that Section, does not contain the instruction regarding the re-submission of that material

“as part of the proposal.” As a result, we are not certain with respect to exactly what is to be included in the part of the overall submission described in Box 9 of Standard Form

33.

Offerors should adhere to the instructions provided in

Section L.3 of the solicitation when submitting their proposals.

4 B.1(b) Should this section indicate “a base period and five (5) option periods” to match what is shown in the chart included in this section?

Yes.

5 B.2 The original solicitation and the original Price Sheets (B

Tables) indicate “The estimated Annual quantities (i.e.

volumes for all contracts combined) for each contract line item number (CLIN).” However the revised Price Tables given in Amendment 0001 do not have the quantities listed.

Please confirm that we are to use the quantities provided from the first (original) Price Tables, but the format from the second (Amendment 0001).

Estimated quantities are provided with the Amendment 0002 pricing tables.

6 B.3(c) A Gigabyte is a fundamental billing unit for this contract.

How does DOJ define a Gigabyte?

1,024 Megabytes

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7 B.3(c)(1) In subsection (c) (1), when asked to provide firm-fixed prices for ALS tasks (scanning, coding, etc.), would DOJ prefer we work any incidental charges into the firm-fixed prices (ex: project management, shipping, etc.) or shall we charge those separately as additional line items?

Any incidental charges are to be included in the firm fixed-prices.

8 B.3(c)(3) Is shipping of media to be considered an ODC? It depends on the situation. If the shipping of media is from document center contractor staff to operations contractor staff, the answer is no. If the government is requiring shipping of media, ie., for production to opposing counsel, then yes the shipping would be billed as an ODC, but only when pre-approved by the

COR.

9 B.3(c)(6) This section states “This rate shall include all costs for overtime hours worked. Up to 10% of the hours ordered may require overtime work.” If the offeror computes a single rate for the first 44 hours (regular work week plus

10% overtime) how do we invoice for work in excess of

10% overtime? Do we invoice at the normal “time and a half” rate for overtime that exceeds 10%?

The contractor may only invoice at the fixed unit rates contained in the pricing tables. No overtime rates will be authorized.

10 B.3(c)(10) Please confirm that the Service Contract Act (SCA) applies to non-exempt labor used to develop Table B-1 products, whether produced within W ashington, D.C. area place of performance or outside of this area. If all Table B-1 products are not subject to the SCA, which CLINs does

DOJ believe to be exempt?

The Contracting Officer has determined that the SCA applies to this acquisition. As stated in Section L.3.1.5 of the solicitation, it is the contractor’s responsibility to properly classify all of its personnel.

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11 B.3.(d)(1) a) If an offeror uses non-exempt labor in the pricing and delivery of the Table B-1 Products, please confirm that

Offerors must comply with the requirements of the SCA and the associated Area W age Determinations (AW D).

b) If offerors must comply with the requirements of the SCA and the associated AW Ds for the Table B-1 Products, we request that adjustments be allowed for changes in the associated SCA AW D for non-exempt labor of the personnel producing these products.

a) Confirmed.

b) A Class Deviation was approved on October 02, 1996 that limits the applicability of FAR Clause 52.222-43, “Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract

Act–Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option contracts)”, to only those (CLINs) that are fixed hourly rates for non-exempt labor categories. This Class

Deviation applies to all future solicitations / contracts for ALS services. The Class Deviation does not exempt any CLIN from the SCA. The Class Deviation does preclude any price adjustment to all Table B-1 CLINs throughout the life of the contract.

12 B.3(d)(4) The third bullet under this section states that table B-4 rates are provisional and their use is anticipated to be rare or occasional. For consistency in evaluation purposes, can the

Government please state a recommended city or site outside of DC that they would prefer the offeror use, since the rates will be changed to match the real location upon task award?

No, the Government cannot state a single site for Table

B-4. Table B-4 is intended to serve all locations.

13 B.5.2(a) Please clarify that the Note on page 10 should read Table

B-3 CLINs and Table B-4 CLINs as opposed to Table B-4

CLINs and Table B-5 CLINs.

That is correct.

14 B.5.2(e) Please clarify that paragraph B.5.2(e) should read “. . . to any supplemental B-4 Price Tables. . . .”

That is correct.

15 C.4.3.1(b) Section C identifies the requirement for 1 DOJ-W ide

Contract Director and a Division and Deputy Division

Director for each DOJ Primary User Divisions. Section L encourages the contractor to consider Attachment (8) when developing a staffing approach which identifies a different number of Division Directors and Deputy Division Directors.

Please clarify the exact # of resumes that the Government is expecting to be submitted with this proposal.

C.4.3.1(b) lists the minimum management structure.

Offerors should include an appropriate number of

Deputy Division Directors based on the annual billing level for each component according to the chart in

C.4.3.1(c) and the estimated annual billing levels in

Attachment (8). A resume is required for each position including the DOJ-Wide Contract Director.

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16 C.4.3.1(b) This section states "The Contractor shall provide an unbillable overall contract management structure for the contract and for contract work for each of the primary user

Divisions as delineated in the Contractor's proposal."

Please clarify that this unbillable management structure should be in accordance with the Minimum Level

Requirements for Unbillable Management Resources Table included in paragraph (c) of this section based on the total annual Division volume included in Attachment (8)

Anticipated W orkload at Time of Contract Award.

Confirmed.

17 C.4.3.1(b)(1) RFP Section C.4.3.1(b)(1) defines the roles and responsibilities for the DOJ-W ide Contract Director. RFP

Section G.2.2 discusses the roles and responsibilities of the DOJ-W ide Technical Director. Is it correct to assume these two sections are referring to the same position by different names?

Yes.

18 C.4.3.1(b)(1) Is it possible for the DOJ-wide Contract Director to also be the same party as one of the specific Division Contract

Directors at the outset? Similarly, may we share resources between Divisions such that one person is Division Contract

Director for more than one Division at a time?

The RFP asks for a management structure that at a minimum includes a separate and distinct DOJ-wide

Contract Director. Offerors will have to decide what constitutes appropriate coverage for each Division, and whether sharing resources is an appropriate response to the requirement.

19 C.4.3.1(b)(2) In the ramp-up period between the overall Contract Award and early Task Order awards, must the Division Contract

Directors still meet with the COR on a weekly basis, or may the weekly meetings commence once task orders have been awarded and project work is underway?

Meetings between the COR and the Division Contract

Directors will be at the discretion of the COR for each

Division.

20 C.4.3.1(c) Please confirm: given that there are 7 litigating divisions, and each division requires 1/3 FTE Division Director for up to $1M in billings per division, then the Contractor must maintain 2 1/3 personnel in this role (assuming < $1M per division for all divisions) as the bare minimum staffing requirement.

Confirmed. Unless all litigating divisions have annual billings over a million dollars.

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21 C.4.3.1.1(11) W ill the Government amend the statement that “The

Contractor shall reimburse the Government for any government furnished materials lost or stolen while in the

Contractor’s safekeeping,” so as to be consistent with FAR

45.104?

No. The language does not contradict FAR 45.104.

22 C.4.3.2(a) If there cannot be shared resources, how do we justify that against the 1/3 resource requirement in 4.3.1(c)?

Division Directors may be shared between divisions wtih less than $1 million dollars in annual revenue.

23 C.4.3.2(f) Please confirm that the reimbursement requirement is limited to employees who “cease to perform” as a result of removal at the Government’s request.

The reimbursement requirement relates to the non-performance of the employee for any reason, and not to who initiates the removal.

24 C.4.3.6 W hat is the specific tracking system in use at the Civil

Division? May bidders see a demo or be granted access to ensure we can integrate with this system?

A custom application developed in Oracle primarily to monitor the status of collection of data and documents through various steps in the document acquisition and processing pipeline for all OLS cases regardless of the contractor. Access and integration issues will be resolved during the transition phase.

25 C.4.3.7(a) & (e) Please confirm that allocation of the costs associated with the correction of work delivered under T&M and LH task orders are governed by FAR 52.246-6, “Inspection-Time-and-Material and Labor-Hour”.

No. Work that fails to meet the standards established in the contact shall be corrected by the contractor at no additional cost to the Government.

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26 C.4.3.8(a) Subparagraph (a) states that DOJ intends to use Quality

Assurance (QA) contractors to ALS QA reviews, and that these QA contractors will be granted complete access to

ALS contractor facilities and other materials necessary to the performance of these reviews. It goes on in subparagraph (b) to state that if the QA contractor is disqualified (due to organizational conflict of interest) from performing QA services, DOJ may order QA services from one of the ALS contractors, and that this contractor must be granted the same access to facilities, etc.. Considering that

ALS contractors will be competing for Task Orders throughout the life of the contract, it would appear to be a conflict of interest to allow one ALS contractor full access to another ALS contractor’s facilities, document coding systems, data processing systems, screener and coder training sessions, coding and data entry manuals, process control logs, and other materials necessary to perform these QA reviews. It is requested that RFP paragraph

C.4.3.8(b) be removed from the solicitation.

The Government has had QA successfully performed by both the QA vendor as well as by other ALS contractors without conflict. The COR will determine the necessity and reasonableness of any access rights.

The Government intends to continue with this process but has revised the second sentence in Section

C.4.3.8(b).

27 C.4.3.9 1) Must each Contractor employee have already cleared the Contractor Personnel Security Process at the time of

Contract Award, at the time of Task Order Award, or only prior to the person’s actual commencement of work on a project?

2) Does the contractor personnel security process apply to subcontractor personnel?

3) Are there ever times or circumstances where personnel may be exempted from the contractor personnel security process?

1) Prior to the person’s actual commencement of work on the contract.

2) Yes.

3) There are no exemptions; however, see Section

H.5.1.2.1 for Pre-Appointment Background

Investigations and Waivers.

28 C.5.2.1(h) Is there any objection to using a more sophisticated naming convention for document boundaries, beyond F/L? In other words, keeping the simple F/L, but supplementing that with tab locations, hierarchical levels and other more detailed nuances of document packaging?

Section C.5.2.1(h) outlines the most basic level of physical attachment for document boundaries; this should be the basis for the offeror’s proposed unit price. Any supplemental or further nested relationships would be discussed and approved by the

COR at project inception.

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The first sentence indicates that the system need only29 C.5.2.1(h) identify the most basic level of the document and not a more complicated nested relationship. However, the later sentences refer to identifying “physical attachments present in the original source document file.” Please clarify whether or not nested (e.g., Parent/Child) relationships should be identified during scanning under this CLIN and carried through as part of the deliverable (e.g., load file).

C.5.2.1(h) requires only the most basic level of physical attachment. Nested relationships are not required and should not be priced for this CLIN.

30 C.5.2.1.2(a) Please clarify if one week refers to a work week or calendar week.

Calendar week.

31 C.5.2.2 The numbering scheme goes from C.5.2.1.3 to C.5.2.3, “Scan to Digital Image - Color”. Please confirm that this only a numbering issue and that no content is missing.

Confirmed. No content is missing. The numbering has been corrected in Amendment 0002.

32 C.5.2.3 Is the intent with CLIN 01-0006 to have a lower per page cost for color imaging, assuming a whole batch (or container) is to be color imaged at once?

The Government expects the unit cost for color scanning as described in paragraph C.5.2.3(b) to be less than the unit cost for color scanning as described in paragrahp C.5.2.3(c).

33 C.5.2.3 Is there a default size that DOJ considers a container to be? Does this size differ for ESI compared to paper?

No. A “container” reflects a manageable unit of material (paper or electronic) received by the contractor for processing. The container size can vary from a box of paper, to a thumb drive, to a CD to a DVD or even a hard drive.

34 C.5.2.4 Is the expectation for CLIN 01-0010 OCR Surcharge that the unit cost per page of OCR would be lower in this instance than the OCR portion of the CLIN 01-0009

Separate Pass?

Yes.

35 C.5.2.4 Is the Contractor required to “repair” OCR on a character by character basis? If so, under which CLIN would this work be billed?

No. The performance standard under C.5.2.4.2 states

“OCR is machine-only.”

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36 C.5.2.4(a) The Contractor shall process digital document images to produce computer-readable ASCII data via an optical character recognition scanning process. Two CLINs are provided. The first CLIN (01-0009) will generally be used when the documents have been previously imaged, whether by the Contractor or by some other vendor and the images must now be OCRed in a separate processing pass.

Does the Government require the same performance parameters for OCRing handwritten source material?

The Government does not anticipate OCRing handwritten material and does not have an associatted

CLIN.

37 C.5.2.4(c) The solicitation text says, “The Contractor shall retain backup copies of all delivered data for six months following delivery.” Is this required for all processed documents of any CLIN, or only for the scan and OCR data?

Retention requirements stated in C.5.2.4 (c) pertain to

OCR data that is created by the offeror. When not specified, the COR will provide the retention requirements, as applicable.

38 C.5.2.4.1 The reference for OCR delivery requirements in C.5.2.4.1 is to CLINs 01-0006 and 01-0007 (Color scanning surcharge

CLINs). Please confirm that the 1,000,000 pages per week is the delivery requirement for the OCR CLINS (01-0009 and 01-0010) instead.

Confirmed. Section C.5.2.4.1 pertains to CLINs 01-0009 and 01-0010, not CLINs 01-0006 and 01-0007. This has been corrected in Amendment 0002. Please note that this section number has been corrected in Amendment

0002 as well.

39 C.5.2.4.1 This section states that combined maximum throughput for document scanning and OCRing is 1,000,000 pages per week. CLINs 01-0006 and 01-0007 in Attachment (1) state that the annual qty/amt is 1,000,000 pages each. These two throughput quantities do not align. Please clarify.

Please see response to Question #38.

40 C.5.5(a) Should the list of types of coding treatments also include

AutoCoding? W ould the following services also be billed under the 01-0024 AutoCoding CLIN: AutoRedaction, AutoAuthorization, and AutoReview?

AutoCoding was not included in the types of coding treatments because it is a machine only process, and the accuracy standards described in Attachment (7) do not apply. CLIN 01-0024 only includes what is described in Section C.5.5.7, and should be priced accordingly.

41 C.5.5(j) For budgeting purposes, can you give an estimate of the cost and time to put a new employee through the security process?

No. Offerors will need to make their own assessments based on the security clearance requirements of

Section H.5, particularly Section H.5.1.2.2.

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42 C.5.5(k) This section lists the possible data load file formats and intended databases. Relativity is not listed. Does DOJ anticipate needing Relativity load file support for coding

(and/or other services yielding a load file)?

The examples included in this section are not intended to be all inclusive. The resulting coded data needs to be loadable into whatever particular application is being used at the time.

Please clarify how/when correcting auto-coding errors that43 C.5.5(n) are a result of poor OCR is billable. The first underlined sentences imply that such adjustment is not billable, however the later underlined sentences allow for compensation of poor or inadequate OCR on an hourly basis.

If poor OCR quality is considered beyond the control of the offeror, i.e., poor quality original, second pass coding enhancement in such cases would be separately billable subject to the discretion of the COR.

44 C.5.5.9(b) W e understand it is the Government’s intention to require coding of 200,000 documents per day. Is it the

Government’s intention to allow CLIN 01-0024-Auto Coding in addition to CLINS 18-0023 listed in the RFP to meet this requirement? Can the Government provide usage history for all CLINS?

As stated, C.5.5.9 applies to CLINs 01-0018 through 01-

0023. The Government would advise against using

CLIN 01-0024-Auto Coding to satisfy the throughput requirement for CLINs 01-0018 through 01-0023, as these coding CLINS are subject to accuracy standards, whereas Auto Coding is not. The estimated quantities in Attachment (1) are based on historical usage.

45 C.5.6(b) and

C.5.6.5(a)

C.5.6.5(a) indicates that digital images under CLIN 01-0030 go with the CLINs listed. C.5.6(b) indicates the images are free. Is the intent under C.5.6(b) that images are included under the unit price and can only be invoiced under CLIN

01-0030 as a separate pass after the original processing is completed?

C.5.6.5(a) indicates that CLIN 01-0030 can be charged with the CLINs cited. C.5.6(b) indicates that it can only be charged as a separate pass and not in combination with

CLINs 01-0026 and 01-0027; is this correct?

The answer to both questions is “Yes”. CLIN 01-0030 will be applied only if images were not requested at the time CLINs 01-0026, 01-0027 or 01-0029 were ordered.

46 C.5.6(c) The RFP states, “the only CLIN that applies is 01-1601...”

Should the CLIN referenced be 01-0026?

Yes.

47 C.5.6(d) The table seems to indicate that 1 Terabyte (TB) is equal to

1,000 Gigabytes (GB). Please confirm that the correct conversion between TB and GB is equivalent to 1,024 GB.

Confirmed.

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48 C.5.6(d) The note states that labor hours to perform an assisted review are not included in the example provided in this section. Can DOJ provide a definition of “assisted review”?

Are the hours associated with performing an assisted review included under CLIN 01-0028?

Assisted review is the use of contractor personnel to assist the attorneys in the further culling or tagging of data. The hours associated with performing an assisted review are separately billable and not included under CLIN 01-0028. Where they are billed will depend on the complexity of the assisted review.

49 C.5.6(d) For CLIN 01-0041, in which labor hours are not excluded

(that is, they are included) to perform predictive coding or other automated culling, is there a limit to the number of iterations that the Government expects the Contractor to perform?

Subsequent iterations of the automated culling will be ordered on an hourly basis, with one exception.

Clustering of concepts are included in the unit rate, and the results must be approved by the COR.

50 C.5.6(d) Please clarify that labor hours to perform assisted review are not included in CLIN 0041.

Correct.

51 C.5.6.1 (page 59) and

C.5.6.2 (page 60).

Please confirm that the numbering for these sections should be C.5.6.6.1 and C.5.6.6.2.

Confirmed

52 C.5..6.1(g)(2) This subsection contemplates filtering by file type, date and custodian. Is there any anticipated filtering by key words, phrases/concepts or DocType?

Yes, filtering criteria will be established at the time of each order.

53 C.5.6.1(l) The description of pickup and delivery services is not specific to location. Are pickup and delivery services separately billable outside of the W ashington, DC metro area?

Please see the response to Question #8.

54 C.5.6.2 Should the contractor assume that this CLIN is only billable

ONCE per activation no matter how many data enrichment functions are requested, even though each of the functions may require the use of different tools or technologies? For example, should we assume this CLIN is only billed once per input GB, even if the Government requests cluster concepts + near duplicate identification + email threading as the enrichment options.

Yes.

55 C.5.6.3 W ill the EFP-Native File Ingestion task require predictive coding or other iterative sampling-learning techniques?

Yes.

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56 C.5.6.3 The Government has specified ongoing culling for the source datasets involved in the Native File Ingestion CLIN.

Given that “ongoing” indicates indefinite time for active culling activities, can offerors assume that for storage of the

"ongoing culling" source dataset, the storage of the source culling set of data is separately billable, such as under one of the hosting CLINs?

The storage of the source culling set of data would be included in the overall volume. See Section C.5.8.(o) for billing details for the storage of data.

57 C.5.6.5 W hat is the billing unit for CLIN 01-0030? Is it per image or per GB?

Per image.

58 C.5.6.7.1 W hat is the typical length (in minutes) of audio and video tape source material?

It varies.

59 C.5.7.1 Are databases ever configured at a record level larger than per document? For example per loan file or per patient file

(where the file is the record, but there are numerous documents contained within it)?

Similarly, are databases ever configured at a record level lower than per page, such as per email string or per customer account number, etc.?

The answer to both questions is rarely; neither scenario would apply to any of the coding CLINs

01-0018 through 01-0023.

60 C.5.7.1 Does DOJ have a standard database for Relativity? If not, is one anticipated?

No to both questions.

61 C.5.7.1(f)(2) This subsection mentions “boilerplate” documentation for

User Documentation. W ill already existing boilerplate materials for standard databases be made available to new contractors to use as a starting point for new database documentation?

Yes

62 C.5.8(c) & (p) (c) The Contractor’s system must be able to support up to

1,000 users concurrently …(p) Prices must include all system administration, including assignment, tracking, and management for an unlimited number of user IDs …

Does unlimited refer to the support of 1000 users referenced in paragraph (c)? Please clarify.

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63 C.5.8(e) W hich CLIN should be used to cover the costs of staffing the Help Desk?

Staffing costs for normal business hours (8:00am to

6:00pm weekdays) must be included in the unit cost for

Managed Web Hosting Services (CLIN 01-0041). If DOJ orders special evening and/or weekend service, CLIN’s

02-0024 through 02-0026 will be used for staff working in offeror-provided space and CLIN’s 03-0024 through

03-0026 will be used for staff working in government-provided space.

64 C.5.8(e) For budgeting purposes, how many staff are expected to man the Help Desk during normal hours? Similarly, how many Help Desk questions has DOJ averaged per week in the last year?

The Government expects the offeror to provide staff sufficient to handle the number of users being supported with prompt resolution of any issues. DOJ has averaged 15 calls per week in the past year.

65 C.5.8(h)(6) For standard Government workflow, do documents always ultimately wind up in a separate litigation database, or are they ever kept in the managed web hosting database for the duration of the matter (including trial)?

Managed Web Hosting is used for both data ingestion and culling activity as well as for on-going litigation database activity.

66 C.5.8(j) How much time should the Offereror allocate during

Transition and Ramp-up to ensure that their web-hosted system meets “DOJ and Government-wide security, certification, and regulations, including Section 508 compliance requirements”?

The amount of time varies based on government availability to conduct the review, and prompt and accurate responses in the offeror’s documentation.

DOJ can seek a waiver to operate which can take about two weeks, but the full ATO (Authority to Operate) can take four to six months.

67 C.5.8(k) “mps” is not a standard unit of bandwidth. Is the correct standard 10Mbps?

Yes.

68 C.5.8(l) W ill the Government please clarify the term “hot site" by providing specific requirements, such as Recovery Point

Objective (RPO), Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and the

Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) for the hosting systems? Are the requirements based upon a scale of the amount of data hosted or urgency of the case(s) hosted?

The term “hot site” adheres to NIST SP 800-34. The alternate storage site is geographically separated from the primary site so as not to be susceptible to the same hazards. A Business Impact Analysis must be performed for the system, but we would prefer an RTO

(Recovery Time Objective) of 48 hours, and an RPO

(Recovery Point Objective) of 24 hours. Submissions would be evaluated based upon the offered level of service (faster recovery time, slower recovery time, etc.) The requirements would be based upon the urgency of the case(s) hosted.

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69 C.6(d) Can DOJ provide an example of when service CLINs would be used in lieu of product CLINs for the same type of work product, such as scanning for example?

When the condition of the document collection and/or the off-site working environment is such that the offeror cannot reasonably expect to achieve the quality and productivity levels that were planned in the unit pricing, the COR may approve scanning billed on the hour. This is not a common occurrence.

70 C.6.1.1(h) Can DOJ provide a rough ballpark percentage estimate of how frequently it expects to use a manual Bates-Stamping technique (stickers or stamps) as opposed to utilizing electronic methods of Bates Stamping images?

See Attachment (1) for estimated annual quantities for manual numbering (CLIN 01-0002) and electronic numbering CLINs 01-0026, 0027, 0029, and 0030.

71 C.6.1.4.2 Level of Treatment Analysis / Vocabulary Development are not defined in the solicitation. Please provide definitions for these terms within the context of the solicitation and specific examples of expectations for these services under the

Mega 4 contract.

This is defined as a series of recommendations by consultants or other information management experts on how best to index a particular document/data collection. The recommendations may result in a particular coding strategy or taxonomy for issue coding.

72 C.6.1.4.2 May the person(s) providing these services be the same party as the Deputy Division Director or Lead Project

Manager, particularly during the Transition Period? If so, are their hours performing these services then billable?

Only after receiving approval from the COR may an unbillable manager having an appropriate skill set perform, and bill for, these or any services. This is extremely rare.

73 C.6.1.4.3 The term “DCF” is not defined in the solicitation. Please clarify.

DCF (Document Coding Form) is a term of art referencing a single coded document used to create database records.

74 C.6.1.4.8(b) Is the database archiving activity described in Subsection

(b) similar to the Near-Line Database CLIN, described in

Section C.5.9? If so, is the billing meant to be both hourly for the labor portion and per unit for the ongoing storage?

No they are not similar. There is no expectation of rapid database restoration for an archived database.

An archived database could take weeks to restore depending on size, whereas a near-line database must be available within the timeframes discussed in Section

C.5.9. Per Section C.5.9, Near-Line storage is billed by the gigabyte stored. For archived databases, the COR will approve a reasonable amount of time to create the archive storage. Storage costs for archived databases are not separately billable.

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Assuming that JCON network access will be required at75 C.6.1.5 contractor-run document centers, are contractors assessed an installation and annual fee for maintaining this connectivity? If so, are these charges assessed separately for connections at each document center?

No.

76 C.6.1.6.1 On average, how long is a typical document center up and running?

It varies from months to years or even the length of the contract, depending on the investigation(s) and or litigation.

77 C.6.1.6.1 How many document centers are currently in operation and/or expected to be transitioned? How many new document centers are anticipated?

Please refer to Attachment (8) for documents centers anticipated at time of contract award.

78 C.6.1.6.1 If a Contractor utilizes a proprietary system for tracking, processing and storing documents in its own facilities

(Contractor site), is it DOJ’s expectation that such a system will be replicated at the document centers as well? Is there any reason DOJ would be opposed to such installations if all their costs are borne by the contractor?

DOJ expects Contractors to utilize tracking systems that can provide current and accurate processing status for all activities, accessible by all of its staff.

The Government would not be opposed to such installations provided it does not conflict with the

Government’s network environment and firewalls. If required by the COR, the Contractor must be able to populate the Government’s own tracking system.

79 C.6.1.6.1(b) Is the cost of renting, operating and maintaining the document centers borne by the contractor or the

Government directly? Does this change if Government personnel are stationed at the document center?

The costs for Government document centers staffed by contractors are born by the Government. The

Government does not anticipate having Government personnel stationed in a contractor’s document center.

80 C.6.1.6.1(k) Assuming a document center is meant to transition to a new

Contractor at the start of the contract, will that transition take place closer to 4/1/2013 (the expected date of contract award), 6/1/2103 (the date by which Contractors are to be ready to offer services), or some time later?

That will be determined at the transition kickoff meeting.

81 C.6.1.6.3 If a Contractor utilizes a proprietary system for tracking, processing and storing documents in its own facilities

(Contractor site), is it DOJ’s expectation that such a system will be replicated at the ALS Labs as well? Is there any reason DOJ would be opposed to such installations if all their costs are borne by the contractor?

Please see the Government’s response to Question

#78.

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82 C.6.1.6.3 On average, how many personnel typically staff an ALS

Lab? W hat hours of operation do they keep?

An ALS Lab is typically staffed by a supervisor and at least 1 document/data processing person, depending on the level of activity

83 C.6.1.6.3 How many ALS Labs are currently in operation and/or expected to be transitioned? How many new ALS labs are anticipated?

Please refer to Attachment (8) for ALS Labs anticipated at time of contract award.

84 C.6.1.6.3(a) The RFP states that several labs already exist. W ill the

Government identify the locations, Divisions supported, physical size, number of staff/CLINs, dates of establishment, tools employed, and services rendered for each lab?

Please refer to Attachment (8).

85 C.6.1.6.3(i) Assuming an ALS Lab is meant to transition to a new

Contractor at the start of the contract, will that transition take place closer to 4/1/2013 (the expected date of contract award), 6/1/2103 (the date by which Contractors are to be ready to offer services), or some time later?

Please see response to Question #80.

86 C.6.1.6.5 Information Management/Library Services lists the position titles of Librarian, Library Technicians, and User Assistants.

However, the Librarian and Library Technicians are not included as CLINs in the pricing tables. Should these be included as CLINs in the solicitation’s pricing tables?

Section C.6.1.6.5 has been deleted from the solicitation.

87 C.6.1.6.7(a) For pricing consideration purposes, approximately how many trial support centers requiring contractors to lease commercial space are anticipated to be required within the

U.S. and outside the U.S. during the base and option years?

That is impossible to know ahead of time.

88 C.6.1.6.9 Please provide additional detail on the scope and types of services anticipated in this area.

Administrative Systems support typically encompasses unique tracking and records management services.

89 F.2(c) Please confirm that this should state seventy-two (72) months, consistent with the base and five option periods presented in B.1(b) and the pricing tables.

Confirmed.

90 F.5.2 W ill DOJ be providing sample reports as templates for the typical reports required in this section?

Sample reports are provided in Attachment (5).

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91 F.7 May Contractor staff working at the Contractor’s site on non-hourly tasks (ex: working on B-1 per unit tasks) continue to work when the Government is closed (due to holidays, shut-downs, etc.)?

Yes, if the contractor’s written policy allows for it.

92 F.8 Does the payment factor ever operate in reverse, i.e., may additional payments be billed for work that is delivered ahead of schedule?

No.

93 F.8(c) Page 92: “If the Contractor fails to deliver the following

CLINs as required by Section C of this contract due to no fault or negligence of the Government, the Contractor shall grant credit to the Government in accordance with the following table.” The CLINs in the “Payment Factors for

Late Deliveries” table do not match the CLINs in Pricing

Table B-1.

The CLINs in the F.8(c) table have been revised to match those in Pricing Table B-1.

94 F.8(c) (1) For purposes of estimating the pricing impact and likelihood of Payment Factors for Late Deliveries, please provide the number of times, deficiency levels, and dollar amounts that have been imposed on the Mega 3 contractors.

(2) For purposes of estimating the pricing impact and likelihood Payment Factors for Late Deliveries, please provide the number of times, deficiency levels, and dollar amounts that the COR has waived the imposition of credits on the Mega 3 contractors in accordance with F.8(d).

The data for both questions is not available.

95 G.1.3 Please confirm that the Security Programs Manager is a

DOJ resource and is not meant to be provided (or paid for) by the contractor.

Confirmed.

96 G.2.1 For this section, in which information is “to be filled out by the Contractor,” should we use the actual page from the solicitation, or simply provide the required content within the scope of our response?

Provide the required content within the scope of your response. Per Section L.3.1.2(3) of the solicitation, this response is to be included in Volume I of the offeror’s proposal.

97 G.3.1 W ill DOJ provide a sample invoice to be used as a template by new contractors?

No. The format of the invoice is left to the contractor’s discretion as long as it meets the requirements of

Section G.3.1.

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98 H.5.1(c) Approximately what percentage of staff will be required to have approval or clearance in order to commence work and the anticipated time it takes to clear a new applicant?

There is no defined percentage. Whatever staff is required to meet the objectives of a task order must have approved clearance, or at a minimum. Contractor staff cannot bill the Government for services until such personnel have been cleared The approximate time it takes to process a clearance varies and depends on the responses of the candidate in their security paperwork.

99 H.5.1.1 How much time is permitted for a new Contractor to “be capable of obtaining a Defense Industrial Security

Clearance Office (DISCO) Defense Industrial Security

Clearance Facility Code and a Top Secret Facility

Clearance to fully perform this contract.” Is this something that is reasonable to obtain during the Transition Period? If not, will DOJ grant special consideration to accommodate the actual time required to obtain such certification? If a member of the Offeror’s team has such certification, but the

Offeror itself does not, will this suffice?

Because the Department of Defense approves the assignment of a facility code and a Top Secret Facility

Clearance, it is difficult for DOJ to provide a specific timeframe for obtaining the necessary clearances.

Contractors that do not possess the necessary clearances at time of contract award, should begin the process of obtaining said clearances as soon after award as possible; vendors that do not possess the necessary facility clearances will not be eligible for award of any classified task orders.

100 H.5.1.2.4 For a new Contractor, are these activities expected to take place prior to the overall contract award in April, 2013, or during the transition period between April and June of

2013?

During the transition period.

101 H.6.1(b) and H.6.4 W ill the Government require contractor-site systems, including those systems performing Coding, Scanning, EFP, Forensics, Trial Graphic support, and expert support such as Accounting, etc, to obtain Authority(s) To Operate

(ATOs) from DOJ before operation?

Similarly, (H.6.4): As the costs and times to execute for this can be substantial, do the referenced pass-through security requirements to subcontractors include pass-throughs to small, local, or specialty vendors? For example, in a case in which an attorney in a remote area requires a photocopy or scan of materials for a case, and the acquisition of the

ATO would be substantially greater in both time and costs than the value of the work.

Yes.

Small order pass-throughs would not be subject to

ATO. Repetitive, long term pass-throughs may be subject to the ATO requirements, however.

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102 H.9(a) Subsection (a) indicates, “The Government shall have unlimited rights… in all computer software, documentation, and other data developed by the Contractor under this contract.” Please confirm that these rights do not cover software and systems previously developed by the

Contractor, prior to the Contract Award, but which may be used in provision of services under the award.

Similarly, please confirm that the Government does not have any rights to proprietary software, algorithms, products and systems that the Contractor develops independently of its services provision under this contract.

Confirmed.

Confirmed.

103 H.14(a) This section provides a list of Key Personnel labor categories. Excluding the DOJ-W ide Technical Director labor category, all other labor categories do not include a specific number of personnel but state "as applicable".

Please clarify if offerors are to assume that the number of

Key Personnel is based on the number of personnel included in L.3.2.3(A)(4)(c)(i) with the same labor categories as those included in H.14.

Yes, that is correct.

104 H.14(a) There are two different positions listed in the Attachment (9)

Labor Category Descriptions for User Support Specialist:

User Trainer/User Support Specialist, and Help Desk/User

Support Specialist. W hich of these categories is considered key? Is the User Support Specialist the same as Help

Desk/User Support Specialist?

The User Support Specialist listed in Section H.14(a) should read User Support Program Manager.

W ith the Government-wide transition from CCR to SAM105 K.1

(System for Award Management), please confirm that all references to CCR in Section K.1, “Annual Representations and Certifications” should be replaced with SAM.

Offerors should utilize SAM when completing their annual representations and certifications.

There is no mention of organizational materials, such as106 L.3(c) table of contents, table of figures, and compliance matrices.

If these documents contain nothing more than the traditional indexing and organizational contents (i.e., no

RFP response content), will the Government allow for these to be outside of the Volume 2 limitation?

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107 L.3(d) May graphics, figures, and tables be formatted in 8 point font?

Text within graphics shall have a font size no smaller than 9 point.

108 L.3(e) W ill the Government please exclude Letters of Intent from the resume page limit?

Yes.

109 L.3.1.3(a) Is it correct to assume that the total small business participation goal for this contract is 40%, with the small business goals for Small Disadvantaged Business, W omen-

Owned, HUBZone, and Service Disabled Veteran-Owned

Small Business being sub-components and inclusive of the overall goal?

The total small business participation goal for the contract has been revised to 44%. Dollar amounts for each of the small business categories will be compared to total contract dollars, not subcontracted dollars

The instructions for the Small Business Subcontracting Plan110 L.3.1.3(a) state that “The dollar provided will be compared to total contract dollars to determine a percentage of total contract dollars for each of the categories.” Attachment 10 – Small

Business Subcontracting Plan only requests percentages of total subcontracted dollars. Please confirm that all percentages to be provided will be against total subcontracted dollars only. Should offerors use their Total

Evaluated Price or the IDIQ Ceiling as the total contract dollars for calculating the small business percentages?

Dollar amounts for each of the small business categories will be compared to total contract dollars, not subcontracted dollars. Offerors should use their total evaluated price as the total contract dollars to calculate the small business percentages.

111 L.3.1.7 W hen the Offeror develops its own systems and software for delivering services under this contract, how would DOJ recommend building a cost basis for such long-term investments in development of intellectual property? W ould this be calculated on a personnel costs basis, on the potential value of the IP? Furthermore, how would you have us account for previous investments in development and personnel that today will simply be utilized to administer services? (That is, their actual costs have long ago been borne, with the expectation that their fruits will be enjoyed for many years to come, including now.) Please advise.

DOJ will make no recommendations regarding how an offeror puts together its proposal.

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112 L.3.1.7(a) and

Attachment (2)

The Note under L.3.1.7 (a) states that the Price Support

Information will be used to determine price adjustments when revised AW Ds are issued by the Department of

Labor. The description of Attachment (2) – Adjustment

Factors Pricing Table - states that these multipliers will be applied to AW Ds for work performed outside the

W ashington, DC metropolitan area. Thus, there appears to be two separate items that can be used for Non-Exempt labor price adjustments. In order to avoid any confusion as to when Attachment (2) would be applicable versus when

L.3.1.7 (a) data would be applicable, is it a correct assumption that the Price Support Information submitted in response to L.3.1.7 will be applied to AW Ds for work performed in the W ashington, DC metropolitan area only?

No. The price support information provided in response to L.3.1.7 will be applied to all AWDs listed in

Attachment (3), not just the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

113 L.3.1.7(b)(4) Are subcontractors required to submit sealed packages

(Company Proprietary data) to DOJ? If so, is compensation data the only information required?

Subcontractors should submit sealed compensation data directly to the offeror for submission with the offeror’s Business Proposal. The offeror must include a discussion of how its proposed subcontractors’ pricing was incorporated into the offeror’s proposal.

114 L.3.2(b) The quantity of resumes and named personnel required to bid this RFP is excessive, gives the incumbent contractors an unfair advantage, and limits competition for non-incumbents bidders. It is requested that the requirement for resumes and named personnel be limited to the key personnel listed in RFP Section H.14.

No, the requirement will remain unchanged.

115 L.3.2(b) Section H.14 identifies the key personnel labor categories to be assigned to perform on this contract. Section L.3.2

(b) states that resumes must be submitted for all key personnel. Outside of the DOJ-W ide Technical Director, and being that this is an ID/IQ contract, how many resumes are required for each key personnel labor category?

See Section C.4.3.1(c) for the minimum level requirements for unbillable management resources at each annual billing level. See also Section

L.3.2.3(A)(4)(c). The number of resumes submitted should demonstrate the offeror’s depth and capability to support anticipated workloads and existing projects at the various Divisions.

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116 L.3.2(b)(2) This section states “If any of the individuals proposed are not presently employees of the Offering organization, their resumes must be accompanied by a signed letter of commitment to join the Offeror's organization in the event of

Contract award to the Offeror.” This requirement highly favors the incumbent contractors, providing them a competitive advantage. It is requested this requirement be removed.

The requirement will not be removed. The Government must know that the individuals being proposed by the offeror are, in fact, committed to this contract.

117 L.3.2.2(b)(2) Geographical Information Systems Support is included in the Litigation Support Services section. However, Geographical Information Systems Support is not identified in Section C.6. Please clarify if this is a requirement for this contract. If so, please provide additional information regarding the requirements.

Geographical Information System Support has been deleted.

118 L.3, L.3.2.1, & L.3.2.3(A)(1)

The instructions indicate that roles and responsibilities of team members are required in three separate locations in an Offeror’s response (Executive Summary, Management

Plan/Organizational Plan and Resources, and the Business

Volume). Since the Executive Summary is limited to only 4 pages, and this table is lengthy as it includes vendors, would the Government consider removing the requirement for the Executive Summary or allow for a cross-reference to the…